All in perspective

DENVER – How many people will say that this is do-or-die day for the Colorado Rockies, their last gasp?

How many will say it promises to be the most memorable day in the lives of the Boston Red Sox, should they complete their World Series sweep?

Yet it's certain that two of the key participants won't buy into those comments.

They would be Jon Lester and Aaron Cook, the starting pitchers in tonight's Game 4 at Coors Field and survivors of health problems that left them truly in do-or-die situations, actually wondering if their last gasp was imminent.

And their recoveries certainly proved more memorable than any baseball game – even the most important one of their careers.

"I guarantee you (Red Sox manager) Terry Francona wasn't looking for a way to match up Lester with Cook, nor was I," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "But it's happened because it's happened. And I believe in a lot of different venues that God's fingerprints are all over a lot of things if we are able to open our eyes and recognize it, whatever faith you have."

Lester, a 23-year-old left-hander from Tacoma, Wash., was diagnosed with lymphoma by a physician, who happened to be his uncle, during a Red Sox trip to Seattle to play the Mariners in August 2006. Until the cancer was discovered, Lester's career was skyrocketing – he won his first five major league decisions in 2006 and was the toast of Boston.

Cook, a 28-year-old right-hander from Kentucky, was in the midst of the best stretch of his career in 2004 when blood clots that started in his shoulder and spread to his lungs nearly cost him his life. He felt dizzy during an August start against the Cincinnati Reds and a month later was rushed to the hospital. He went through a delicate eight-hour operation to remove a rib and had another procedure to reroute a vein in a wrist. A doctor told him he was less than an hour from death and he didn't pitch for nearly a year.

Both players endured long recoveries marked by pain, perseverance and more than a few moments of self-doubt. And both have a healthy perspective on where Game 4 of the World Series fits on their list of priorities.

Lester spent much of the 2007 season in the minors, regaining his strength after six cycles of chemotherapy to treat the anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. He returned to the Red Sox for good in late July and went 4-0 in 11 starts and one relief appearance.

Before the cancer diagnosis, "I didn't really get a chance to enjoy what was going on, and being up in the big leagues, being a part of every kid's dream and playing up there with these guys," Lester said. "I took a lot of things for granted last year, and I beat myself up over little things.

"This year, I've tried to just have fun, treat it like a game, like a kid's game, have fun doing it, and I think it's helped out quite a bit. I don't beat myself up over the little things anymore and just go out and try to compete."

Cook, a Rockies second-round pick in 1997, was something of a failed prospect at the time the blood clot nearly took his life. But since breaking into the big leagues for good after his recovery in late 2005, he became a fixture in the rotation and was Hurdle's choice to start on opening day this year.

Cook was a solid contributor until Aug. 10 when he pulled an oblique muscle and missed the rest of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Hurdle said he put Cook on the World Series roster not for sentimental reasons but because he had worked hard to get his arm back to game condition, drawing on the inner strength it took three years earlier when his arm had atrophied so much he couldn't lift it above his head.

"I've been working my butt off even with the injury this year to my oblique," Cook said. "I never gave up. I kept looking forward to having a chance to pitch in the postseason, and here it is, Game 4 and they decide to give me the ball."

Lester got his chance when Tim Wakefield was left off the World Series roster because of a shoulder injury.

"His situation had a profound effect on all of us," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said. "The beauty of it is that Game 4 is going to be a whole lot different than had he not gone through what he went through. There's no mountain he can't climb, no hurdle he can't jump."

The Rockies feel the same way about Cook. And the two pitchers, while humbled by their experiences, understand that their match-up has a special quality.

"It is kind of ironic with him going through what he went through and me what I went through, both of us to work our way back up to the top level of professional baseball," Cook said. "It's tough enough to get here, and what we've been through, just to keep our focus, keep our faith, and just realize – I'm sure he realizes too, without me talking to him – that baseball is not the most important thing, and once you realize that you are able to relax, put it back in perspective, play it like a game and just have fun. I'm sure that's what he's been able to do too."